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Tuesday, Feb. 6, was a day for lasts for the girls soccer team (7-12-1). As they fell 3-0 to Osceola (18-4-1) in the regional quarterfinal matchup, they ended their season, and with that, their head coach, Billy Helms, coached his final game as a Knight. His last day at Robinson will be tomorrow, Feb. 8, before heading to Gaither to teach (click here to read that story).

“It’s like a culmination of nine years personified on that field… where everything that I taught to all my previous players, all those conversations I had with previous teams and this team. It all came together tonight,” Helms said. “The way that they played, it was shown here how this Robinson team played. I’m not sad about leaving; I feel proud that I was able to do it as many years as I did.”

The night did not run smoothly, as offensive errors on Robinson frequently gave Osceola the ball. But, the Lady Knights didn’t let up until the clock let out.

“We all felt sad that it was over but (we were) glad we left it on the field,” center and captain Sophie Bailey (’19) said. “(The game) was pretty good, besides those few mistakes that (Osceola) capitalized on. Our offense couldn’t string anything together, but our overall possession and playing went pretty well.”

Although captain Elisa Toghranegar (’18) suffered a knee injury earlier in the season and has been cheering from the sidelines, she was just as invested in this game as her teammates on the field. Because, not only was this her final high school soccer game, but the last one her teammates would ever be coached by Helms.

“If I had a penny for every time Helms gave me advice, I’d be rich,” Toghranegar said. “In soccer, he definitely taught me how to be a captain. In life whenever I’m really stressed or frustrated or anything, I always go to Helms and he always knows how to calm me down. If it wasn’t for him, high school would have been a lot harder.”

Although the season is over and the coach is gone, the soccer team isn’t giving up, and Helms isn’t quitting on those players.

“The relationships that I had on the field, they evolve (after those players graduate) and move from player to friend,” Helms said “That’s pretty cool, and I won’t let that stop.”